1984 Mustang GT: Reader Ride

Shane Hill's 1984 Mustang GT

I bought this off a mate, it was in a very sad condition. He got it as part of a deal so I ended up buying it off him all stripped and gutted and very horrible. But it was straight and rust-free.

Now it’s got a 5-litre Windsor, limited slip diff... I basically cleaned it up, gave it a new coat of paint, put the cage in it, everything you see here. The front brakes are big Wilwoods, the rears are E46 M3 brakes. It’s got BMW stud patterns on the wheels and BMW coilovers, but it is a Mustang. I was building a BMW sports sedan at the time, and this turned up but so did the BMW parts. Lo and behold it wasn’t a big deal to put them all in here. Plus it all seems to work.

It’s just been finished and has had no track time, so it needs setting up, but there haven’t been any issues so far. The brakes are massive, the motor’s clean and crisp and that’s pretty much it. She’s ready to go.

There’s a ’77 Corvette though – this car is about two thirds of the value of that, so I would get rid of this to buy that. It’s got more history, just an in-your-face American race car.

I love American muscle. I have a ’69 Firebird at home and I’m just a very muscle-car type of person. As much as I love the Mustang as a race car, I wouldn’t have it as a road car. A lot of people call it a ‘European Mustang’ instead of a classic Mustang. They’re a great setup, the balance and weight it great for racing and it’s something different, but I like my older, more classic stuff. It’s just that this was there at the time at the right price and rust-free.

Even if the Corvette plan doesn’t happen, I’ll be quite proud to run this car, it should be fun.